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Since the Renaissance period, several scholars across western Europe wanted to visit libraries in the Ottoman Empire, especially in Constantinople, but also in many other parts of the Eastern Roman Empire as these were said to contain manuscripts of classical authors that may have not been seen in the Western areas. It was believed that a small portion of a wide collection of both Latin and Greek literature may have survived. The scholars were mainly concerned with the manuscripts in the Topkapi Serai which is found in Constantinople — the new empire's center which had previously served as...

Since the Renaissance period, several scholars across western Europe wanted to visit libraries in the Ottoman Empire, especially in Constantinople, but also in many other parts of the Eastern Roman Empire as these were said to contain manuscripts of classical authors that may have not been seen in the Western areas. It was believed that a small portion of a wide collection of both Latin and Greek literature may have survived. The scholars were mainly concerned with the manuscripts in the Topkapi Serai which is found in Constantinople — the new empire's center which had previously served as the palace of the Byzantine emperors before the conquest of the Turks. This chapter concentrates on the endeavors of searching for significant ancient manuscripts.